Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A finished slip knot. The slip knot is not only useful in a wide variety of outdoor scenarios, but also incredibly simple to tie.

A version of this story ran in The Virginian-Pilot on Sept. 14, 2005. Hurricane or no, we’re in for a blow. Time to start thinking about how to secure the woodpile or lash the garbage cans to a tree.

It sounds like something you’d stumble upon if you went the wrong way at Hogwarts: oversized tools, giant knots, and rope as far as the eye can see. But for knot expert Des Pawson, it’s just normal ...

Tugboat bowlines, fisherman's knots, sheet bends. The best knots are named for their jobs on the ocean, but they have numerous, practical uses on land as well. Here's how to tie the versatile bowline ...